Comment from aznzero
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:34 AM

Morning Dave/fellow bloggers,

Sorry I was not that active on the blog. I wanted to make sure I chime in on the last game. Just been really busy with school and work. But I do stop by to check on the blog.

Despite the record, I am excited for this team. I think me and Dave share the same feeling that something special is starting here in DC and it is something to be excited about. The vision of a building a young team is coming along. Took awhile for things to gel, but hey hopefully we can carry this momentum into next season.

Thanks you Dave a bloggers!

Go Wizards!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from aznzero
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:34 AM

Thank you Dave and bloggers!

Comment from Jaba
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:12 AM

It’s been a pretty wild ride this season, but there are reasons for hoping we’ve made it over the hump. Let’s close it out with a promising effort tonight! Looking forward to following the draft discussions and summer league talk on the blog this off-season! Thanks to Dave and all the bloggers who make this a fun place to share thoughts and enthusiasm for our favorite team!

GO WIZARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:23 AM

Ditto on what aznzero and Jaba say just above.

But this will be a longer rebuilding process than people seem to be thinking, and I’m already worried about how disappointed fans may be next year when we are better but *by no means* a playoff team yet.

@ grifonracing ended the last thread hoping we’d nab derrick williams if we had the top pick, because he is “a great fit.” Can’t predict of course, but Kyrie Irving looks like a guy who might be in the Chris Paul mold. *Always* take the best player, *always.*

Anyway, it’s unlikely we’ll have the #1 two years in a row!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:37 AM

Btw, playing for the world team a few days ago, Bismack Biyombo had the first triple double in Nike Hoop Classic history.

“He’s Ben Wallace, basically”, someone said.

That’s good enough for me!

Comment from Neal
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:57 AM

Damn. Both Sacramento and NJ lost. And they’re favored to lose again tonight, playing the Lakers and the Bulls.

So…..

If the Kings and Nets lose again and we win tonight, all three teams will have identical records and a coin flip will be needed. If we come in 3rd in that, we’ll fall behind those two teams and the Cavs, Twolves and Raptors, who have worse records than ours. Then if the 3 lottery teams have better records than ours, we would pick behind them, as well as the five teams mentioned above. That is 9th.

Comment from Neal
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:14 AM

Tom, you’ve told us that after the first pick, the correlation is weak between draft position and success in the league. I presume you have stats to back that up. It follows then that the team’s needs for particular positions should be the most important factor in drafting, rather than the perceived ability of the prospects. What say you, my friend.

Comment from millie mill
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:16 AM

I got this from Wikipedia

In the event that teams finish with the same record, each tied team receives the average of the total number of combinations for the positions that they occupy. In 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers tied for the sixth worst record. The average of the 6th and 7th positions in the lottery was taken, resulting in each team getting 53 combinations (the average of 63 and 43). Should the average number not be an integer, a coin flip is then used to determine which team or teams receive the extra combination(s). The result of the coin flip is also used to determine who receives the earlier pick in the event that neither of the tied teams wins one of the first three picks via the lottery.

If Washington, New Jersey and Sacramento all tie, the number of lottery balls each team will get is 90.

#4 gets 119
#5 gets 88
#6-gets 63

It seems fair to me but it would suck if we lose the coin toss to get the 8th or 9th pick.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:16 AM

Yes, there are studies about the correlation between success in the league and position taken in the draft. If you rank player productivity in the league it doesn’t match well w/ where guys were drafted.

But your reasoning is faulty, Neal — one of the reasons highest productivity doesn’t imply having been picked highest is precisely *because* teams take guys they think fill “needs” rather than taking the best player.

At the same time, it’s also true that GMs simply don’t have the ability to predict player productivity. This proven inability is one important reason that people are starting to mine player stats for the factors in college play that *do* carry over to the pros.

In a sense, if productivity is totally random then, sure, you should pick the position of need. But, even more so, you should just trade away all your draft choices for proven players. But that hasn’t worked when it’s been tried.

Interestingly, there’s also very little correlation between height or weight and productivity at any position. I.e. if you list 4s by their height or weight it bears no meaningful relationship to a list by productivity. Ditto for 2s. Yet you repeatedly hear e.g. that a guy like Booker is “too short to be a 4.” Or that a college guard is too short to be a 2; he’ll have to learn to be a point guard.

Comment from AUNDRA
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:35 AM

Tom
You always have been the level headed one of the bunch and for that I want to thank you. I myself have a vision and if that vison comes to fruitition than Washington DC will be a more better place to talk sports since hockey is the only winner in town! I like Wall and he likes the management so maybe we can get him to promote the franchise to the new and up coming talent in college and overseas! We still need defensive minded superior athletes with 7 foot wing spans who are multitalented on the both ends of the court! The wizards veterans need to take a serious look at there situation “injuries” to see if they can produce at the same pro-level as before in there prime. I would not be selfish and just hold up a spot when I’m at the end of my career like Shaq ! I also like to say for those veterans who think Washington DC is a melting pot of losers and will not even give us a chance , your maybe making a huge mistake! Defense is the key and toughness is cure!

Comment from Phemy
Time April 13, 2011 at 12:00 PM

http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/28493707

nba cancels summerleague? got the link from espn… uh – oh. Despite the fact that we would probably gone perfect in the summerleague, this doesn’t sound so well….

BEAT THE CAVS! always a pleasure!

Comment from AUNDRA
Time April 13, 2011 at 12:27 PM

Wow
The NBA doesn’t believe in negotiating to the 11 hour like Congress.They just ruin it for everyone and that’s not fair!
Its very sad state of affairs now and it going to take a miracle to get us back on track! I guess I’ll have to cancel my Vegas trip this year!

Comment from tyrone2000
Time April 13, 2011 at 1:45 PM

If the Wizards keep mostly young players they will be rebuiliding the rebuilt team for years. They need to keep some vets. At least 5. I will repeat my position…There is no team that wins in the playoffs with rookies and/or 2nd and 3rd year players as the dominance.

Comment from Neal
Time April 13, 2011 at 4:04 PM

Tom is essentially saying that position in the draft doesn’t correlate well with success in the league because teams draft according to their needs, rather than the talent of the players. I doubt it, but I can’t prove differently.\

What I agree with is that productivity is more important than size. Examples are Unseld and Wallace as centers (and E. Thomas when he was healthy) and Barkley as a PF. And it looks like Booker can be a good PF and Jeffers a good SF.

Sacramento and NJ will almost surely lose tonight. Both are playing the second half of back-to-backs against good teams. I’m sure the Wiz will be trying to win, as they should, but I’m hoping they play well in a losing cause.

Comment from gray16
Time April 13, 2011 at 4:06 PM

@Tom

Always take the best player?

So what if we do get the first, you say draft Kyrie. Then, Lets say the best player on the boards at the time of our next draft pick is a pg, draft him too. Then draft the next pg too, so on and so on. I don’t agree with this at all.

How are we supposed to fit Kyrie onto the team with wall on the team? How is he supposed to be effective if Wall is taking his minutes and his touches? We need a lot of help at other positions other than pg, I don’t agree to take Kyrie over a sf,pf, or c.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 4:53 PM

Go Wizards! It’s been an up and down year. I’m not worried about pin balls, I want to see us do good in getting free agents and making smart trades. Beat the Cavs…

This possible lockout annoys me.

Comment from datkid88
Time April 13, 2011 at 5:29 PM

Cmon wiz I want a beatdown in Cleveland tonight to end the season off right.as for next year keep wall,crawford,young,blatche,mcgee,booker,evans and maybe jeffers/howard(really like how these 2 play d) anybody else I won’t be said if there on another team next yr.I also think keeping Sam cassel is important too wall/crawfords growth and everybody else on the team seems to like him too.I still think flip should go cause I don’t even think half the team likes him and his offense/defense playbook sucks to me for the kind of team we have but will see in the summer….go bullets!!!(no more wizards after tonight finally lol)

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:37 PM

7:30 PM…Dave Johnson checking in…just spent some wonderful time with Joe Tait……he will be our halftime guest

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:41 PM

7:35 PM EDT…starters are in…Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker at guards…Ryan Hollins at center…and Alonzo Gee and JJ Hickson….John Wall and Jordan Crawford at guards for the Wizards…JaVale McGee at center and Muarice Evans and Andray Blatche at forward..

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:49 PM

I like the Wiz current colors of Blue/Gold/Black…. but I guess I’m in the minority on that… Hey did anyone have 23 or 24 wins in Neal’s $20 lottery??? Man this season is over already for the Wiz and no summer league to look forward too!!!

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:55 PM

@MR Kit I also like the wizards current colors, but I am curious to see what the Red, White, and Blue would look like if we have a season next year. Also, would the court be changed like the Sixers’ Wells Fargo Center?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 7:56 PM

we start at 8

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:01 PM

flip talks about wizards future

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:02 PM

Awhhh…. It really is over…. for now!!

While I wish my Wizards were a part of the post seson play (that too shall come SOON!!) I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy not to have to ride the metro again!!! LOL!!

Let’s go WIZARDS!!!!!

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:06 PM

Mr. Know it all – I also like the current Wizard colors…. I even love the name….

But clearly a HUGE change is on the way when the team store has a BOGO sale the final games of the year….

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:11 PM

Last game of the season, and I can’t find it on Comcast SportsNet — or anywhere! Yikes!

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:12 PM

@WWAW & 2steps – Glad to see you feel the same way …. my main beef with the Red/Blue is TOO MANY TEAMS ALREADY WEAR THOSE COLORS!!!

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:14 PM

We’ve been learning how to do what I call the “Paul Pierce” – lifting your arms into the defender’s arms & get the call…

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:15 PM

Yes Mr. Know it all!! waaay too many teams being patroitic… & I’m a NY Giants fan, so I can take it THERE, but no more!!!

Comment from dlts20
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:17 PM

BTW, Dray is the best in the league now at that Kobe Bryant move of going up real quick when a guy puts his hand on your or in front of you. He gets to the FT line every single game now with that move and sometimes he does it multipitle times in games

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:18 PM

That is what Wall has to do, change of pace. I love seeing that.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:19 PM

@ Neal — I said that was *one reason*, not *the reason*, that nba productivity doesn’t correlate to draft position!

The biggest reason is that it’s just too hard to predict accurately how well a player will turn out in the league. Because it’s too hard to do that GMs don’t pick w/ a lot of accuracy.

How different is that from any other profession, really? Can you tell the best doctor by what medical school he went to?

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:22 PM

That was some nice ball movement – Wall to Evans to Crawford…. NICE!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:23 PM

a little sloppy to start…wizards…good on the break

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:26 PM

wizards creating turnovers…7 points off turnovers

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:29 PM

Is cleveland playing for lottery balls?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:30 PM

hey welcome 2 steps

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:31 PM

@ gray — Just because you take a guy doesn’t mean you keep him. Just because you have a particular pick doesn’t mean you keep the pick. Just because you have a player at a particular position doesn’t mean you stay away from another player at that position.

If we get the #1 pick, and we don’t want Kyrie, we’ll trade the pick for a slightly lower one and something else valuable. I often think trading down can be smart.

But if you *are* making a pick (for your team, not another, and not to trade), then you pick the best NBA player you can get.

For that matter, if you think Kyrie Irving is better than John Wall, then you pick him and trade John Wall. The one thing you *don’t* do is pick a less good player because you don’t want to have a problem to manage. If you are a GM, it’s your *job* to manage these kinds of problems.

In the very unlikely event that we strike paydirt 2 years in a row and have the #1 pick in the 2011 draft, not to worry; teams will be lining up to make offers for that pick. Kyrie Irving is the closest to a sure thing in this draft.

Would you have passed on Blake Griffin because you had a good starting 4, gray? Please…

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:34 PM

The last game and this game starting to see Blatche settle for jump-shots again… I guess old habits are hard to break!!!

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:35 PM

Do we have more than 10 guys dressed?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:38 PM

Are any of you able to see this game? Not televised out where I am.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:39 PM

i rememeber when it meant playoffs… better days ahead

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:43 PM

cant hold on to the ball

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:45 PM

seraphin 3 fouls

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:47 PM

Thanks for the answer!!! I bet Cleveland does not have 1/3 of their team in street clothes… But we have worked it out w/8 – will Shakur get to play tonight??? Uhm…

And have we lost the drive??? Let’s get that focus back!!!

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:49 PM

Never mind.. Shakur is in now!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 8:50 PM

yes 11 players nduiaye playing

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:00 PM

Tom – Not sure where you are – it is showing on csn+ – on direct TV it is 643

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:09 PM

Uhm… Cavs scoring in the paint 2nd quarter…. no blatche or Mcgee… I’m-Just-saying….

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:09 PM

letting the bench play

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:14 PM

Are we gonna see the starters again?

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:26 PM

Nice start to the 2nd….

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:27 PM

Uhm… cans shoot from very far… all Wizards fall back, like it was a given the shot was going to fall…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:28 PM

starters again

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:29 PM

Can we get a “man law” going for the final 2 quarters of the season – McGee makes NO MORE “flip” shots….

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:32 PM

TIME OUT….

And I can go w/o hearing Blatche for 3…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:32 PM

getting out worked right now

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:40 PM

dare I say when blatche plays w/energy, the team plays w/energy….

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:41 PM

or perhaps it just LOOKS that way….

Comment from millie mill
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:48 PM

McGee has no Basketball IQ

Comment from 2stepsaway
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:51 PM

If the cleveland fans get into the game, it may be a wrap for us….

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:55 PM

good points 2 steps

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:57 PM

hey millie mill good to check in with you again,,,

Comment from millie mill
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:58 PM

Are the wizards trying to lose this game??

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 9:59 PM

12-2 cqavs runs..letting bench play

Comment from millie mill
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:02 PM

Oh well, I guess we will see how this turns out. If we win it’s just one more win. If we lose 26 more ping pong balls.

Comment from Neal
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:05 PM

Thanks millie for telling us about how the flip doesn’t affect the lottery. However, it will affect things for those who don’t get a lottery slot and it will affect our other two picks.

Sure wish this game was on regular cable.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:18 PM

I’m glad we rested our starters for the playoffs this weekend…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:19 PM

thank you….1 800 636 1067….for post game

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Flip threw the game….. he is from cleveland!!!

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time April 13, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Nba please don’t lockout… I want to see my Wizards. The playoffs will be sick this year.

Comment from Babakism
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:29 PM

I watched the CAPS game tonight but to the Bullets during intermision. We obviously put in a lineup that would lose us the game and I am happy we did. The starting lineup had already played well in the first quarter to build a big lead and has had some great games the past couple weeks showing us what they may hold for the future. We had nothing to gain by beating Cleveland. We already beat them a couple weeks ago. If we would have one we would have lost valuable draft position.

Even if there is a summer league I don’t think John Wall would be playing in it.

Hopefully there is no lockout.

The play where Dray got fouled by running into littloe tiny Ramon Sessions and he couldn’t finish the layup really bothered me. I loved the way he finished the year but plays like that make him look very soft. I didn’t like the way he played in the Boston game either. He looked like he gave up and didn’t want to be on the court.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:46 PM

Well I guess that’s wrap. Thank you to Dave, Glenn, and all my fellow bloggers. Even though it was a frustrating year on the court the banter and commaradarie on the blog somehow got us through it. It always does

On to next season…

Let’s hope any lockout will be short. It’s not encouraging when the NBA cancels summer league though.

Let’s hope for no or short NFL and NBA lockouts. I can’t see myself watching bass fishing.

Comment from Neal
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:50 PM

Hooray! We lost. Better for us in the draft.

Comment from Babakism
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:51 PM

@Tom

Many people on the blog a couple years ago didn’t want to draft Griffin(if we had the top pick) because we had Jamison. I for one wanted to draft Griffin and move Jamison to the 3 and Butler to the 2 and play with a bigger lineup. I always thought Jamison was really a small forward.

I think drafting Irving and trading Wall would be a PR nightmare.

If you can’t work out a trade with a team that wants Irving, Derick Williams still seems like an equally good talent. He should be taken.

The problem with Drafting Irving and actually keeping him is that PG is different from any other position in basketball. It would be very hard to find both him and Wall minutes. Especially if we are planning to develop Jordan Crawford into a regular starter, as he seems to like to handle the ball as much as a PG.

Drafting Irving when you have your future set at PG is totally different than drafting Blake Griffin when you already have a starting PF. It’s alot easier to play 2 PFs on the court at the same time than it is 2 PGs without one of the players production dropping off.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time April 13, 2011 at 11:59 PM

BBKI I’m still wondering who the good “4″ Tom spoke of is LOL.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time April 14, 2011 at 12:02 AM

I have to agree with Tom in the “intent”. Ok we don’t want Irving (although Tom does). If we get the first pick I’ll change my tune and adapt it to Tom’s. We trade the 1st pick to the second picker for 2nd pick , maybe get another player or “considerations” Then pick Derrick Williams. Any way you want to get there is fine with me Tom lol.

Comment from Babakism
Time April 14, 2011 at 12:52 AM

Of course I forgot to mention, we actually have to be lucky enough to get the top pick lol.

I would really love to get the top pick and trade it to Cleveland or Utah for their 2 lottery picks. I wonder if Utah would do Favors and their lottery pick to get Irving? probobly not, they are usually smart in their dealings.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time April 14, 2011 at 1:45 AM

two A type personalites at pg will never work. Wall already considers us “his team”. His numbers… minus the turnovers speak for themselves. Irving will be a great player in the league. We will all have to sit back and see how it all plays out.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 14, 2011 at 3:18 AM

As this team continues to rebuild, there is no way i want EG doing this by himself. Okay, keep the guy if you want to Ted, but get a consultant in there with him. There is no way i want EG selecting or offering anything to ANY free agent what so ever. I mean really, his track record speaks for itself….Etan Thomas, Jamison, AB, JHoward…these are only a few that immediately jump out.

We will need some veteran free agents. if it’s via trade, i am somewhat ok with him picking/selecting/managing(not really, but i’ll be flexible), but offering money….GET HIM OUT OF THE ROOM!!

btw-whoever said javale is a lot better than hibbert, needs to just say NO, leave that ish alone. look at the stats, pretty even, but hibbert can shoot free throws A LOT better.

I don’t really want to compare these kids to anything, they have 22 wins, and their season is over. In regards to AB, Coaches, ETC. Why oh why do you let a guy stink it up for a whole season, then let an injury be the ACTION that sets him down, now he has a new attitude? So you let him stink it up, get into the lottery, then play your way out of more ping pong balls, after the season is over? Bad acting. Go get Mrs. Pollin, you need williams out of this draft and check to see if you can hire any of Presti’s offspring NOW!

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 14, 2011 at 3:19 AM

BTW-We don’t need OKC’s model, we need their GM!!!

Comment from Neal
Time April 14, 2011 at 8:13 AM

I’m a little surprised Saunders threw the game by taking the starters out, but I’m glad we lost.

So…..

Our first pick will be:
Best case – #1
Most likely – #4
Worst case – #7

Second pick: #18
Third pick (second round): #34

I sure would like to see a new CBA soon, so prospects won’t stay in school for fear of a lockout. We won’t likely pick this high again.

I’ve warmed to Crawford. Slick is a better shot but Crawford brings infectious energy to both ends. However, Young seems to play better when he starts. So, here’s my idea of a 3 guard rotation:
PG – Wall 35 min, Crawford 13 min
SG – Young 28 min, Crawford 20 min

Comment from Neal
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:07 AM

Somebody tell us when the lottery happens.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:23 AM

@ proofy — I was the one said McGee was better than Hibbert, and he is: quite a bit better. Their numbers aren’t similar either, although you are certainly right that Hibbert is a better FT shooter!

Per 40 minutes:

JaVale gets more rebounds and blocks but fewer assists.
JaVale shoots a much higher FG% but takes fewer shots.
JaVale fouls less.
Above all, JaVale turns it over less — that’s a big problem for Hibbert.

The result is that JaVale’s true shooting % is significantly better than Hibbert’s, and his effect on team net possessions is *much* better: +10.9 vs. +8.2 per 40 minutes.

McGee is *frustrating* — no doubt. But Hibbert is simply limited as a player, so it’s not a fair comparison. Roy can’t shoot, doesn’t rebound, and can’t hold on to the ball. All the time in the world w/ Hakeem Olajuwon won’t increase his *talent.*

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:31 AM

Crawford’s stats last night demonstrate his problems as a player.

He played 30 minutes and didn’t get to the line at all, turned it over 3 times w/ no steals, and shot 2-14. He has a long way to go to become a productive NBA player, whether or not — as Tyrone put it — he can “flat out ball.” Last night was a close game, and he flat out lost it for his team.

On the other hand, Wall’s numbers last night in 24 minutes were incredible. He was maximally efficient in everything he did, and he had 4 steals to only 1 turnover.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:39 AM

Dray turned it over 5 times in 24 minutes last night, but otherwise he played very well, shooting well, getting to the line 9 times (!), grabbing 7 boards, and getting 2 steals. Not one of his top performances, but still very productive.

No question; Andray Blatche closed the season strong — now it’s time to trade him.

Comment from millie mill
Time April 14, 2011 at 11:15 AM

@ Neal the draft Lottery is May 17th.

Comment from gray16
Time April 14, 2011 at 12:30 PM

@Tom

I would love to see Dray traded depending on what we get in return (especially if it’s a good draft pick). But I doubt anyone wants him right now, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Right now, My Top Draft picks for the wizards are:
1. Enes Kanter
2. Derrick Williams
3. Brandon Knight

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, Brandon Knight? And yes, I was the same person who said don’t draft Kyrie Erving because we don’t need a pg.

My ideology, (or stupid logic lol) on this is Brandon Knight is a for sure back up point guard, who could run at the two for certain minutes as well. He is a better player than Crawford, more coachable imo, and would provide stability at the back up point. The reason I say don’t get Erving is because if we are high enough to pick him, I highly doubt Williams or Kanter have been picked yet, and we should go for them instead imo. So my pick of Knight is more based on draft position than actual need. I’d rather us get a good back up point than waste a top 10 pick on someone that doesn’t deserve it.

Comment from gray16
Time April 14, 2011 at 12:36 PM

Oh, and whats the story on this Bismack Biyombo. I see Tom mention him a lot, I see his name all over Draft Express, but is this guy for real? If he is, He would be my third choice behind Williams and Kanter, but I am always skeptical on overseas players. Is he really Ben Wallace, or is he Kevin Seraphin 2.0?

Comment from tyrone2000
Time April 14, 2011 at 12:47 PM

Crawford had a bad game but that was not his norm. His shooting % will get better because like I said this guy can ball. By the way I hope the Wizards resign NYoung cause he can flat out shoot!

Comment from gray16
Time April 14, 2011 at 1:37 PM

I’m also in favor of resigning Nick at a reasonable price. He shouldn’t get a major contract, but a decent contract over say 4 years would certainly be good.

I just hope he can improve his consistency. Some nights he was giving us 5 points, the next he was giving us 25, he needs to fix that. If he can rebound and assist like he was doing in Jan and Feb I will be satisfied, but I hope he can improve that a little bit as well.

But I think 7-9 mil a year (with today’s CBA) would be a good contract to offer him. If he wants to pull a Larry Hughes though, we should let him go. And we can also add incentives to the contract as well imo.

Comment from millie mill
Time April 14, 2011 at 1:39 PM

If the Wizards are luckily enough to win the Draft I’m with Tom on selecting Kyrie Irving from Duke. Unlike Tom I would not keep him. I would trade him to a team that really needs/wants the top rated point guard. That would give us in return their top ten first round pick and willing to give us a young prospect player for Blacthe.

For an Example I would trade Blatche and Irving for a top ten first round pick and the following players:

Minnesota –Kevin Love, Wesley Johnson or Michael Beasley

Cleveland- JJ Hickson

Toronto- Andrea Bargnani

Sacramento- DeMarcus Cousins or Jason Thompson

Utah- Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap or Derrick Favors

Detroit-Greg Monroe

With the highest pick I would focus on a prospect SF like Derrick Williams, Marcus Morris or Terrence Jones.

With the 18th pick I would get a back-up combo guard like Nolan Smith from Duke.

I don’t believe in drafting the best player on the board. I believe in drafting for team needs. Drafting the best player on the board will make you look like Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn.

Comment from gray16
Time April 14, 2011 at 1:52 PM

I wouldn’t mind doing that mill, but the problem is finding the team and the player.

Minnesota – will not get rid of love or beasley. and wesley johnson is just horrible.

Cleveland- JJ Hickson is no better than blatche

Toronto- Bargnani is no better than blatche

Sac Town – I doubt they are looking for a point guard right now, but I wouldn’t mind getting Thompson (but salaries present a problem)

Utah- they aren’t getting rid of millsap for erving imo, and while I would like favors, I don’t think salaries would match

Detroit – I have wanted monroe since last year (before we got number 1 pick) but I don’t see those salaries matching either

So it would be hard to find a team that is willing to give up a good player for Erving and Blatche. That said, I would love to see it happen. Out of all of those guys, I would want favors most, but I don’t know if we could get that trade to work. I would definitely love to see it happen though.

Comment from millie mill
Time April 14, 2011 at 2:54 PM

@ gray16

It wouldn’t be a straight up player for player trade. The other team might have add a player to make the salaries match. Or, we may have to add a player to make the salaries match.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time April 14, 2011 at 7:47 PM

Go Wizards, oh, no game tonight, my fault….

Comment from ChenierFan
Time April 14, 2011 at 8:27 PM

A few random thoughts…

1) My long lost wife broke out the bubbly celebrating the end of the Wizards’ season.

2) I don’t get all the push to trade Andray. You guys have rocks in your head. In just his first full year as a starter the the guy was 17/8/1/1.5 steals. That’s pretty darn good. But the main stat is that the Wiz could only go 2-16 when he was out of the line-up and one of the wins was against NJ w/o Williams. The other an OT win vs Utah.

3) Goodbye Yi, Josh, Himade, Mustapha and hopefully Rashard. Thanks for the memory or two.

4) Goodbye Joe Tait. As a kid I remember listening his call of the fatefull game 7 (miracle in Richfield) on WWWE Cleveland back in 1976. That was one tough loss. He was a great play-by-play announcer. Happy Trails…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 8:48 PM

@ tyrone and millie mill — you guys are convincing me you really don’t get it.

For starters, tyrone, Nick Young is 26 years old and a completely unproductive NBA player. He wouldn’t get 8 minutes a game on a good team. Why ever would you want him? You haven’t had enough of him? And gray — you want to give Nick Young $9m a year? Nick Young? I think someone might offer him $2.75m, and that’s more than I’d pay. I’m really blown away.

and millie mill — Bargnani?? He is perhaps the worst player in the league. Wes Johnson did zero as a rookie — you want him why? And Beasley… Beasley? He’s horrible. Then there’s Demarcus Cousins — whom I *loved* at this time last year! — who committed 328 fouls in his rookie year, the most in NBA history. (But… I still like him — what can I say? )

gray — like you I’d love to have Favors.

But none of these trades will happen.

Btw, I did *not* say that if we have the top pick we should take Irving and keep him. I said that whoever has whatever pick should take the best player available at that pick. At #1, in this draft, that player looks to be Kyrie Irving.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 8:58 PM

@ Chenierfan — you really think Andray Blatche was “pretty darn good” this year? I hardly know what to say.

Andray Blatche was *not* good this year; he was bad. Terrible in fact. Did he have some good games? Sure. He had some last year too. You mention that we were 2-16 with him out of the lineup this year. I guess you’ve forgotten that we were 0-19 with him *in* the lineup last year!

Every year there’s someone to say “wait til next year” about Andray Blatche. Next year, he’s going to be the same guy he was this year. If we can find a home for him, he needs to be gone.

Comment from Neal
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:23 PM

Thanks millie, I’ve got 5/17 circled on my calendar. I think it would be fun for a bunch of us bloggers to watch the lottery or the draft from a bar, but I didn’t get any interest when I suggested that last year and we both remember what happened two years ago.

It’s hard for me to evaluate Blatche rationally. He has terrific talent and he has excellent nights, but he still makes mental errors. Charges, silly fouls, low percentage shots. I think I get unduly prejudiced against him when I see those things and because of the knuckleheaded things he’s done off the court.

We don’t have to make a long-term commitment to Slick, and shouldn’t unless it’s a bargain. A qualifying offer for next year only commits us to $3.7M. He’s certainly worth that. If some team offers him more than that we can cross that bridge then – maybe a trade would be in our best interests if a team is that interested in him.

Comment from millie mill
Time April 14, 2011 at 9:34 PM

Tom,

I was just pointing out that if we was lucky enough to get the first pick there would be options to get from under Blatche’s contract, get a better player or a player with a shorter term contract and get a draft pick.

@Neal

That sounds good but I don’t think our fellow bloggers like the idea. I’m still down for it.

Comment from gray16
Time April 14, 2011 at 10:28 PM

Guess in my attempts to not sound cheap, throwing a number out there for Nick Young was too high lol.

After looking at other’s contracts, I would say 4-5 million a year for Nick Young would work. If that’s too high, ah well, it’s just my guess at what would be a reasonable contract for him. I do feel he deserves more than 2.5 mil a year, but that’s jmo. I really don’t pay attention to the financial side of things to be honest.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 10:48 PM

@ millie mill — good point. But we do need to get a terrific player out of the top of this draft if at all possible. And another one w/ the Hawks pick. And a third w/ our high round 2 pick.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 14, 2011 at 10:53 PM

@ gray — nbd.

I wouldn’t make Nick a qualifying offer; I don’t think he’ll get any action to speak of, and I don’t think it’s any loss if he goes w/o compensation.

I might add that this is all pretty much academic at this point — hard to see a new CBA coming. I don’t even know if the “qualifying offer” thing is in play for next year because of the CBA running out at the end of June. A lock out is a lot more likely it seems than anything else… .

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 15, 2011 at 1:52 AM

There’s a world out there besides the players on our team already. no need to jump on signing NY right away. see what’s out there before settling, time to change this team.

AB totally sucked this year. Doing ok in meaningless games is meaningless. one huge difference in our season this year was NOT having a power forward and consistent center. time to upgrade. Both starters this year, don’t deserve another chance as starters unless they prove that they can be backups first.

Player exceptions are used when there isn’t a player for player swap.

Individual numbers do not matter when your team is winning and going to the playoffs. Human Highlight films get old after a while and are put on the shelf for special nights.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 15, 2011 at 7:52 AM

I think you have it a little backwards, proofy. Games are meaningful when your team wins a fair number of them, obviously — and they do that when the players put up better numbers. You can prove this to yourself when you see that on teams that win more games the players put up better numbers.

Kevin Love’s team didn’t win a lot of games, but that doesn’t mean his numbers were meaningless. His numbers tell you what kind of player he is. If you were the Minny GM you wouldn’t trade him because his numbers were meaningless. You’d try to build around him.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:15 AM

The problem with Andray isn’t that he puts up meaningless numbers, it’s that he doesn’t put up very good numbers. He has good games, but overall the results just aren’t there.

His 2010-11 season was very similar to his 2009-10 season. He played fewer games this year, but he played more minutes per game, winding up w/ about the same number of minutes (only 85 fewer than last year) and about the same results.

Scoring: Dray shot a little worse this year than last, but he got to the line more and his FT% was a little better. Overall his scoring efficiency was slightly down, but not by much.

Rebounding: Unlike his scoring, Dray’s rebounding was slightly up from ’09-10 — again not by much.

Other numbers: Dray’s steals were up and his turnovers a little bit down, which is good. His blocks and assists were a little bit down.

Overall, by whatever measure you use, Dray’s ’10-11 season was about the same as his ’09-10 season overall. Btw, don’t forget that in ’08-09, he already played 24 minutes per game. His numbers that year were also very similar to his numbers the last two years.

What else can this tell you except that this is Andray Blatche. This is the player he is. He’ll turn 25 this Summer. He really isn’t likely to change much.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:44 AM

In Dray’s case, he played good in meaningless games (the season was already lost, then he decides to play like a PF (Somewhat)). The wiz season may have been different if he played that way all season.

But some of that blame goes on the person who let him play “soft” for 30 minutes a game.

Comment from Neal
Time April 15, 2011 at 2:01 PM

Tom doesn’t like either Young or Crawford. I like them both. Crawford is under contract for $1.1M and Young can be had for $3.7M. The odds are that the cap in the new CBA will be harder, which means that the cap will be higher, which means we’ll have lots of cap room. Young is certainly worth $3.7M. We’ll sign at least two more guards before the season starts, giving us 5. IMO those are not our most vulnerable positions.

Does Blatche more than make up for his shortcomings with his scoring and rebounding? I can’t make up my mind whether we should have him in our long-term plans or not. Does his soft play and/or attitude affect the rest of the team?

Can anyone tell us the date of the draft?

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 15, 2011 at 5:24 PM

lol….compared to what JHoward gave us for 3 mill, jeffers is worth 6 million.

I’m not going to say young isn’t worth 3, i’m just saying let’s see what else is out there, before we keep obligating ourselves with question marks. Crawford is basically just arriving. Hopefully he has a quick learning curve. Currently we have Young, McGee and AB that are taking more than two/three years to “begin” to catch on. Their contracts are up before we can even begin to know what they can do. Need players with quicker learning curves.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time April 15, 2011 at 7:34 PM

Why do bloggers insists on blaming the person who let him play soft? His game is what it is…that is he is very slow on his feet but has good moves to the basket. He is not very athletic but his skill set makes up some of that. He has a very fragile mind and it turns a lot of people off. He is the only one that can change his mind set. He refuses to learn his role and when he fails to perform above his capabilities he seems frustrated but he can learn his role. Everyone knows that some of those NBA refs are terrible but he continues to let them affect his game. This makes him weaker than he is. This is why there is such a huge question mark concerning Blatche. I know he plays weak against certain opponents but he also plays a stronger games against players like Kevin Garnett. Than he plays like a scrub against the lesser opponents. Blatche has no one to blame but himself. I just hope he doesn’t quit on the Wizards which I believe is the one positive that makes me say keep him around…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:03 PM

@ Proofy, this is Andray Blatche. As Tyrone says, the guy you saw is who he is and how he plays.

He’s a well below average NBA power forward and always has been. All the coaches have gotten the same thing from him — they’ve gotten what Andray Blatche has to give.

@ neal — where do you get the idea that I don’t like Jordan Crawford? I do like him. But, all the same, he has a long road to travel before he is going to help us be a winning team.

Comment from Neal
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:09 PM

Tyrone, I hear what you’re saying. IMO an NBA basketball coach has to be one of the most frustrating jobs there is. How do you motivate these rich young men that have been idolized all their lives? Do you bench Blatche for a while? Presumably the team is better with him playing at 80% than with him on the bench. And the coach would surely catch hell from a lot of fans. I’m sure glad I don’t have that job.

Saunders’s comments to a Post reporter were that from conversations he’s had with “management” make him confident in his job security. Has the recent relative success of the team saved Saunders’s job? I’m undecided. For those of you who want him to go, who would you rather have?

Comment from tyrone2000
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:11 PM

@ Tom
I didn’t mean to mention his name cause I was sure everyone would know the player is Blatche that I wrote about.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 15, 2011 at 8:13 PM

@ neal — “Does Blatche more than make up for his shortcomings with his scoring and rebounding?”

Huh? Blatche is a *way* below average rebounder for his position. Yes, he gets a lot of rebounds some nights; but he gets very few other nights. This was his best year on the boards, and he averaged 9.7 per 40 minutes on the floor. That’s *bad*.

And you want his scoring to make up for something else? He shot 44%. Again that’s extremely *bad.* It’s not going to “make up for” anything.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 15, 2011 at 10:46 PM

in an interview, JWall stated that the wizards need a big man that can post up and one that will set him some picks (i think). if that ain’t calling out javale and ab, i don’t know what is

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 16, 2011 at 7:33 AM

I wonder if we could package a few picks together and get Cousins and/or get williams. That would be an awesome draft.

Comment from Neal
Time April 16, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Tom, Blatche’s stats for the year aren’t good but in the last part of the year when he finally started playing inside he did very well. You gotta give him that. I think that’s what Saunders wanted him to do all along.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 16, 2011 at 10:40 AM

I would, but do it when it matters, not when the season is basically over and everyone is ready for springbreak 2011.six years in the league and he’s just getting it? pay back all that money you got for being a pretender…lol

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 16, 2011 at 1:08 PM

Oh, to address why i’m blaming the person that let him play “soft” for 30 minutes….if he was the difference between us winning/losing, and he was allowed to stay on the perimeter, rather than staying down low and helping out on the rebounding, and it caused us to lose or had a major part of the reason why we lost (other team’s second chances/offensive rebounds)…..guess what? the coach should play those people that will do what the team needs, not settle for what a player does….

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 16, 2011 at 1:11 PM

Man, Hibbert even knows how to set a pick!! let that comparison go, it has no credibility

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time April 16, 2011 at 10:13 PM

Sigh… we’re back in the blame flip for Dray being a bad player mode. Dray is Dray.

As to his play being the difference between us winning and losing, no it wasn’t. That is, not Dray alone. As I said before the season, we didn’t have (and we still don’t have) enough good players to win many games. That’s why I predicted 22, and I was right or close to right.

Now, had Trevor Booker played all of Yi’s minutes (at the productivity he displayed in his own minutes), we might well have won 4 more games. And had Othyus Jeffers been around long enough to play all of his own minutes, Josh Howard’s minutes and Cartier Martin’s minute (assuming he did so at the same very high level of productivity he showed in his own minutes), that might have meant yet another 4 wins. And that one’s a long shot.

But that’s about how far it goes.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time April 17, 2011 at 1:01 AM

Players not good enough???? I disagree with that one. If Flip can yank McGee for not doing something, why did he keep having to say, “if dray would go on the block”, but dray wouldn’t go on the block and would still get 30 minutes. Yes, Flip deserves the blame for letting Dray not go on the block and keep doing what he wanted. Now, if dray would have been on the block all season and we would have had a terrible record, i would agree, but letting this go all season and playing Yi all those minutes is telling me they were playing for the lottery.